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With help from Tony Romm, Brooks Boliek, Michelle Quinn and Eliza Krigman

GAME OVER FOR LIEBERMAN CYBERSECURITY BILL — The 51-47 vote last night that blocked Senate consideration of Sen. Joe Lieberman's cybersecurity legislation means the chamber is finished trying on that measure. And Majority Leader Harry Reid made that especially clear last night, noting on the Senate floor: “Everyone should understand — cybersecurity is dead for this Congress." A day after the vote, here's what you need to know:

--ATTENTION SHIFTS TO WHITE HOUSE: "As tonight’s vote in the Senate illustrates, the current prospects for a cybersecurity bill are limited," the administration's chief cyber adviser, Michael Daniel, told us in a statement. "Congressional inaction in light of the risks to our nation may require the administration to issue an executive order as a precursor to the updated laws we need," Daniel said. "We think the risk is too great for the Administration not to act. … An EO is one way to improve such collaborative efforts; however, an EO is not a substitute for new legislation." MORE HERE: http://politico.pro/ZwBRkv

--LAWMAKERS DISMAYED: After the vote, a spokeswoman for Lieberman on HSGAC told us the senator is "disappointed" about the missed opportunity and said the hope is that "Congress finds the will to strengthen our cyber defenses before a cyber-9/11 occurs." Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of the lawmakers who tried to forge a compromise back in the summer, told us the best shot is "probably next year." And Sen. Barbara Mikulski repeated her fears that Congress wouldn't act until a "catastrophic event" occurs, which would lead lawmakers to "overreact, overspend and overregulate." Republicans on the opposite side of the debate, though, expressed some interest in trying again in 2013. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, for one, said last night the hope is that supporters will try again "with all of the relevant committees" at the table. (KBH, we should note, is leaving at the end of the year.)

--PARTY DEFECTORS: Dems voting against the motion last night included Sens. Max Baucus, Mark Pryor, Jon Tester and Ron Wyden, all four of whom did the same this summer. (Wyden told us this week he would go that route if he didn't think he could boost its privacy protections.) GOP-ers other than Collins voting for it included Sens. Olympia Snowe and Scott Brown, also the same as before.

DeMINT SEEKS TO CURB FTC’S ANTITRUST AUTHORITY — Elizabeth Wasserman and Jonathan Allen report: “Sen. Jim DeMint is circulating a draft letter among fellow Republicans urging the FTC to curb its ‘apparent eagerness’ to expand its antitrust authority — particularly ‘against businesses in the rapidly evolving technology industry,’ according to a draft obtained by POLITICO. The South Carolina lawmaker is encouraging other senators to sign the draft letter, which is addressed to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz and comes as the FTC is in the midst of two high-profile antitrust investigations of Google over its search business and use of standards patents against rivals. ‘We take no position regarding the merits of any matter currently under investigation by the Commission,’ the draft says. The letter does not mention any companies being investigated, but it suggests that the FTC is overstepping its authority in pursuing some antitrust matters.” Tthe full story, for Pros: http://politico.pro/SrwUTR

MEANWHILE, SAFE WEB REAUTHORIZATION CLEARED — The Senate last night cleared a House-passed bill to reauthorize the SAFE WEB Act, which empowers the FTC to fight cross-border spam and spyware.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where Samsung is getting the royal treatment. Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 was chosen as the Royal Collection's first tablet computer. The device will be loaded up with 60 entries that in some way relate to Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year-reign — including clips from the 2011 Royal Wedding and a rap about the 2011 London riots — and then presented to the Queen as a “digital time capsule." Via CNET: http://cnet.co/SNPMgm

SENATE JUDICIARY TO RESUME VIDEO PRIVACY BILL MARKUP — The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its markup of the House-passed update to the Video Privacy Protection Act on Nov. 29, a committee aide said. Committee chairman Patrick Leahy has proposed an amendment that would update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which governs law enforcement’s access to emails stored online.

PRISON PHONE PETITION — In an indication that the calls for reforming prison phone rates are resonating at the commission, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski late Wednesday began circulating a further notice of proposed rulemaking to deal with the issue. The move comes the day before prisoner-rights advocates deliver a 40,000-name petition to the commission urging the FCC to take action. High prison phone rates, which cost up to $22.75 for a 20-minute collect call, have bedeviled prisoner rights advocates for years. The advocates also plan a rally today in support of commission action.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORS FINE LYFT, UBER AND SIDECAR — The California Public Utilities Commission has issued $20,000 citations to ride-sharing companies Lyft and SideCar and ride service Uber for public safety violations. “If something happens to a passenger while in transport with Lyft, SideCar or Uber, it is the responsibility of the CPUC to have done everything in its power to ensure that the company was operating safely according to state law,” said Brigadier General Jack Hagan, director of the CPUC’s Consumer Protection and Safety Division, in a statement. “That means that the company has insurance to cover an accident and that its employees are protected and are suitable drivers.” http://bit.ly/W7hJpd

Uber was also hit with a class action lawsuit claiming its operations are illegal because Uber is allegedly “acting as a taxicab company while sometimes denying this fact in order to avoid all regulations governing taxicab companies,” according to TechCrunch. In response, Uber just sent out a brief statement claiming that the company “complies with all laws and regulations applicable to its business,” calling the lawsuit “baseless,” and claiming that it’s willing to defend itself in court. http://tcrn.ch/Qe9bLL

Keynote speaker FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel joked that the real accomplishment of the Media Institute was not promoting the first amendment, but getting “so many people to turn out in tuxedos on a Wednesday.” Jokes aside, Rosenworcel offered her philosophy on some of principles that should guide modern media policy such as consumer choice, competitive markets, universal access and remembering that the old values still apply to new media.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski quipped that rather than asking him what he plans to do next, interested parties should ask Nate Silver instead. Genachowski introduced John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, who won the Institute’s American Horizon Award.

And Sen. Roger Wicker gave a heartfelt introduction to his childhood friend, Bob Pittman, CEO of Clear Channel, who received the Freedom of Speech Award.

ICYMI: RON PAUL SAYS INTERNET IS ALTERNATIVE TO ‘GOVERNMENT MEDIA COMPLEX’ — During his farewell speech to Congress yesterday, Rep. Ron Paul insisted that the Internet remain free from government regulation. “The Internet will provide the alternative to the government media complex that controls the news and most political propaganda. This is why it’s essential that the Internet remains free of government regulation,” Paul said. He added: “There’s every reason to believe that a renewed effort with the use of the Internet that we can instead advance the cause of liberty by spreading an uncensored message that will serve to rein in government authority and challenge the obsession with war and welfare.”

TODAY: NETCOMPETITION PANEL — NetCompetition hosts a panel discussion on the need to modernize obsolete communications law and spectrum management processes. Panelists include Scott Cleland, chairman, NetCompetition.org; Jeffrey Eisenach, visiting scholar, American Enterprise Institute; Everett Ehrlich, president of ESC; James Gattuso, senior research fellow in regulatory policy, The Heritage Foundation; and Sascha Meinrath, vice president of the New America Foundation and director of the Open Technology Institute. It starts at noon in Rayburn 2218. http://bit.ly/UE6zbs

KRAMER AT ITI ROUNDTABLE IN BAY AREA — The Information Technology Industry Council today hosts a roundtable and Q & A session with Ambassador Terry Kramer, head of the U.S. delegation to the World Conference on International Telecommunications. It will be Kramer’s last West Coast event before the WCIT in December. The discussion starts at 2 p.m. Pacific Time on the campus of Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif.

SPEED READ

FACEBOOK SHARES RISE 13 PERCENT AS LOCKUP EXPIRES: Among the reasons cited for the sharp increase were pent-up demand for Facebook stock and a "squeeze" on those betting that Facebook shares would fall following the lockup expiration, The Wall Street Journal reports: http://on.wsj.com/XaL1EH

APPLE TO DOLE OUT $2.5 BILLION TO SHAREHOLDERS: It’s just the second time in 17 years that Apple has paid some of its excesses to shareholders, CNET reports: http://cnet.co/T45mYM

BELIZE PM CALLS McAFEE “BONKERS”: "He ought to man up and respect our laws and go in and talk to the police,” Belize's prime minister said, urging anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee to help the country's police with a murder inquiry. Via Reuters: http://reut.rs/ZNJS3J

GROUPON NAMES NEW CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Groupon promoted Kal Raman to chief operating officer, giving the executive more power as the company tries to turn around its struggling international businesses, Reuters reports: http://reut.rs/UqJV04

NASA SAYS STAFF INFO WAS ON STOLEN LAPTOP: NASA told its staff this week that a laptop containing sensitive personal information for a large number of employees and contractors was stolen two weeks ago from a locked vehicle, The New York Times reports: http://nyti.ms/REcVDl

ICYMI: THE MILITARY STRIKE WILL BE LIVE-BLOGGED: Welcome to 21st century warfare: Israel Defense Forces is currently live-blogging and live-tweeting its attack on the Gaza Strip, complete with details about strikes and counter-strikes and pictures and YouTube videos, Dylan Byers reports: http://politi.co/ZNYboQ

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